This is a blog to chronicle this portion of the life of Staff Sgt. Jason Ross, my son, as he mends, after an I.E.D. explosion, on March 7, 2011, while serving his country in Afghanistan.

Iwo Gima

Marine Corps Marathon

Thursday, March 22, 2012

March 22, 2012 - Let's take up golf

Today was a day that we had no appointments, at the hospital. Jason was contacted by the Master Sergeant, from the Wounded Warrior battalion, who had been contacted by another individual (I think), and they had been contacted by Anthony Netto of the organization Stand Up and Play Foundation. They have come up with a "cart" that allows the individual the ability to become more mobile, and thus more active in whatever it is they want to do. Mr. Netto himself is paralyzed from the waist down, and was at one point a quadriplegic, due to two different injuries (that in itself is a separate story, that I'll let him tell). Bottom line is that he feels that because of this mobile device/cart, he has regained the use of this upper body. It wasn't just the cart alone, but it was a major contributor, and now he is a strong advocate of this device for anyone who has injuries. Most of the people he sees are dealing with neurological issues, and I was skeptical at first. I didn't see how it was going to help Jason, since the design appears to be for someone with at least stumps or with legs, even if they are paralyzed. Jason was willing to try and it worked quite well.

Anthony Netto is an avid golfer, and carries a handicap of zero, or no handicap. He is able to drive a ball farther than just about anyone, because he is strong enough and because of the physics involved with the cart. He showed Jason how to do some putting, and how to drive and this was the first time Jason ever picked up a club, other than pee-wee golf. Jason was able to be up in this new configuration longer and more comfortably than we thought he would, and all of this pleased us very much. I took a bunch of pictures and will try to post a couple, but they really don't do it justice. We are going to follow up with this, over the next few weeks, and see if Jason can get one of these chairs, and the government will (or should) pay for it.

One of the other advantages of this chair is that it can elevate the person sitting in it, so that they can now have access to the upper cabinets in the kitchen, or garage, or whatever room you're in. It allows them to feel much more independent. I'll let you know how this moves along, and I'll see if I can get more information about Stand Up and Play Foundation out to everyone.

Once we were done with that bit of excitement we came back to the house and Jason was ready to lay back down. He was tired from all the activity, and was feeling a little sore from suddenly being in positions he hadn't been in for more than a year. Along with all that going on, Sergeant Major Lawson came over to visit, as he was out here for some meetings, and other Marine business. He had stopped by to see Jason while he was still in the hospital, and wanted to check up on him, and it was good for them to get a chance to talk. He stayed for about an hour or so, then had to get going himself. By now it is getting later in the day, and I still need to fix Jason and my dinner.

Jason had a busy day, and pretty exciting one at that. I am hoping to sleep well tonight, as I think he will, and we'll need to see what adventures we can take on tomorrow. Thank you, for all your continued prayers and support.

2 comments:

WOW! Great invention and I'm glad that you, Jason, were able to give it a try. You look strong up in the chair, I imagine with some practice you'll be able to drive it far. I look forward to what kind of devices our friends at MIT can come up with also. Something for snorkeling or scuba diving would be on my wish list for you :-) I'm praying for success with the lazer treatments. My experience with lazers is that it triggers the automatic healing process in the derma at a deep level.

Spring has sprung in Livermore! The hills are FINALLY green again, a welcome sight.

Looking forward to another visit down to San Diego this year. I pray for you daily.